Grinding Process Size Effect and Kinematics Numerical Analysis

The present work developed numerical codes that simulate steady-state grinding process kinematics. The three-dimensional modeling procedure entails the following: specifying the sizes, shapes, and positions of individual abrasive grains on the wheel surface; geometrically calculating the abrasive grains’ depth of cut distributions along the grinding zone as they pass through the grinding zone (neglecting wheel, abrasive grain, and workpiece deflections); using an empirical relationship to relate the abrasive grains’ geometric depths of cut to the grains’ actual depths of cut; and updating the workpiece surface to account for material removal. The resulting data include the abrasive grains’ average depth of cut distribution along the grinding zone, stock removal depth, stock removal rate, grinding zone shape, grinding zone length, percentage of grains impacting the workpiece, grain-workpiece impact frequency, etc. The calculated grinding zone lengths compare favorably with experimental data. This article examines a number of steady-state grinding processes. [S1087-1357(00)00101-5]